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Discount supermarket Lidl is boosting hourly wages for its 16,000 employees as the cut-price grocer plans to open one new shop a week.

Lidl is lifting hourly wages from £8.45 an hour to £8.75 for all its store staff outside London and £9.75 to £10.20 for workers within the M25.

The wage increase is above the Government's living wage, which is set at £7.50 for employees over the age of 25 years.

Lidl's wage rise means the discounter is paying its UK employees a greater hourly wage than all its supermarket rivals, including the 'Big Four', which are in the process of slashing jobs to cover higher employment costs.